1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic warehouse capable of automatically carrying a package in and out of a storage shelf, to store the package.
2. Description of the Related Art
A known automatic warehouse includes storage shelves, a carriage device and a transfer device, the carriage device being called a stacker crane or the like and being capable of carrying a package along the storage shelves, the transfer device being provided in the carriage device and capable of transferring the package between the carriage device and the storage shelf.
In such an automatic warehouse, for example, as described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-71932 . , the storage shelves are provided on both sides of the carriage device. Further, the carriage device is provided with a cart that travels on a floor between the two storage shelves, a mast that extends upward from the cart along the storage shelves, and a lift stage that is lifted or lowered along the mast. Moreover, the transfer device is attached to the lift stage, and can transfer the package between the carriage device and the storage shelf on either side.
According to the above automatic warehouse, it is possible to automatically take the package out of the storage shelf to carry it out of the warehouse, and automatically store the package carried in the warehouse into the storage shelf.
Nowadays, the automatic warehouses have been diversified, and for example, an automatic warehouse for a small package has appeared. In the case of such an automatic warehouse, an area for passage of the carriage device such as a space between the storage shelves or between the storage shelf and a wall is narrow and small. When maintenance is to be done on the carriage device or the like, at the time of a worker passing through an operation area of the carriage device, there occurs a problem of the cart on his or her feet getting in the way, a problem of the vertically extending mast getting in the way, and other problems.